1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to computer networks and data processing systems and, more specifically, to and a system, method, and computer program product for monitoring and controlling network connections from a supervisory operating system.
2. Discussion of the Background
Networked computers cooperating on computations or implementing communication systems, such as SS7, are subject to hardware failures in communication links, switches, hubs, and network hosts, as well as software failures in software implementing or using communication protocols. As network speeds increase and as quality demands increase on service providers, controlling bandwidth allocation, responding to out of band events, and monitoring performance and security becomes critical. However, most networking protocols do not directly or efficiently allow for this type of functionality. For example, TCP/IP, a widely used networking protocol, is designed to be tolerant of timing fluctuations and therefore does not have a method of rapidly discovering network failures. During the operation of a network stack, handling of timing events or out of band signals may be delayed by stack or operating system scheduling. Other drawbacks and disadvantages exist.
“A Retrospective on the VAX VMM Security Kernel,” by Karger et al. describes the development of a virtual-machine monitor (VMM) security kernel for the VAX architecture. The focus is on how the system's hardware, microcode, and software are aimed at meeting A1-level security requirements while maintaining the standard interfaces and applications of the VMS and ULTRIX-32 operating systems. The VAX security kernel supports multiple concurrent virtual machines on a single VAX system, providing isolation and controlled sharing of sensitive data. However, computer networking is not discussed.
Other background references include: U.S. Pat. No. 6,385,643 issued to Jacobs et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 5,958,010 issued to Agarwal et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,721,922 issued to Dingwall, and “Support For Real-Time Computing Within General Purpose Operating System,” by G. Bollella et al.